Shadya Karume,founding member and chairperson of ZAYEDESA (Zanzibar Youth, Education, Environment, and Development Support Association) and wife of the former president of Zanzibar (Dr. Amani Abeid Karume, in office 2000-2010), will speak on daily challenges women and civil society face in Zanzibar, from health issues to radicalization. Shadya Karume will be joined during the discussion session by Khadija Mohammed, a senior official in the Zanzibar Ministry of Education and women´s empowerment advocate.

Maimuna Mohamud,founder and president of the Oxford Somali Society and a Somali activist, will speak about the problems Somalia is facing, especially in the diaspora. They range from female genital mutilation, issues of reproductive health to violent extremism and malnutrition. She dedicates her activism to issues of forced migration and explores the importance of engaging displacement in debates such as peace, reconciliation, (re)building political infrastructures and the inclusion of women in politics.